NCAA has reason to fret over O'Bannon case

A constant irritant for sports fans is when the business side of the game becomes bigger than the game itself.

It happens during lockouts and strikes in professional sports, and at the amateur level it's the NCAA that often disrupts the party with investigations, sanctions and penalties.

But if you're a fan of college sports — especially big-time football and basketball — you might want to pay attention to what's going on with an antitrust lawsuit that has been filed against the NCAA, Electronic Arts Sports and Collegiate Licensing Company.

If the plaintiffs win, everything about college sports will change dramatically.

In a nutshell "Ed O'Bannon vs. the NCAA" accuses the businesses of using athletes' names, images and likenesses to sell products without compensation.

And there's a really good chance the athletes are going to win.

Anyone who has played the EA games — and I have been one to see the dawn rise while trying to lead my college team to a national title — knows that the realism can be uncanny.

If you follow college sports at all, you will quickly recognize who a star player is.

His image is detailed down to his hairstyle and physical build.

If you were using Baylor in 2011, there was no question that the quarterback wearing the number 10 was Robert Griffin III.

And when you were playing basketball back when EA Sports tried its hand at college hoops, it wasn't hard to figure out which avatar matched up to a well-known, real life player.

Yet the NCAA forbids athletes from making any money off their names, images and likenesses.

The hypocrisy is evident.

The case was originally filed four years ago. Now plaintiffs also include such basketball legends as Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson.

O'Bannon, who played hoops for UCLA in the 1990s, and his lawyers argue that upon graduation, "a former student-athlete is entitled to financial compensation for future commercial uses of his or her image as used by the NCAA."

And the baldheaded, left-handed player who wore the No. 31 for the Bruins in the discontinued EA Sports game sure looked like O'Bannon.

A court will determine next month if the case will go forward as a class-action suit.

If this case does reach class action status — and O'Bannon and company win — the NCAA is in for a world of hurt. The damages could be measured in the billions, and the NCAA would have to figure out a very different way to do business going forward — if it even stays in business.

All this goes beyond the argument about paying players for playing what is billed as an amateur sport.

There are those who think a scholarship is ample compensation for services rendered, while others think "student-athletes" have a right to share in the money they bring to their school, league and NCAA.

However video games are sold for profit. And while the NCAA has been able to successfully profit from what players do on the field or court, making money off their likenesses outside of those endeavors oversteps a lot of boundaries.

Thus, this case is very winnable for the plaintiffs.

Going to court is a crapshoot, of course. There's no way of safely predicting how any case will come out and this battle will rage on for years.

But it's certainly no open and shut deal for the NCAA, EA Sports or CLC.

This time, the NCAA's hypocrisy might come with devastating financial consequences.

Scott Adamson can be reached at 864-2601237 or by email at adamsonsl@independentmail.com.